The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the full lineup for its Centrepiece programme, with five of the 43 titles hailing from Canadian filmmakers, including three world premieres.

Among the three Canadian films world premiering as part of the Centrepiece is Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Measures for a Funeral, which she directed and co-wrote with Deragh Campbell. The film sees a young woman seek to restore the legacy of Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow.

Formerly titled Opus 28, the film is produced under Bohdanowicz’ Maison du Bonheur shingle and Montreal’s GreenGround Productions.

Also premiering is Melanie Oates’s Sweet Angel Baby, produced by St. John’s-based Relatable Films, which follows an unassuming and beloved member of a small fishing community in Newfoundland who sees all of her relationships put in jeopardy after her secret social media persona is exposed.

Rounding out the world premiere’s is Johnny Ma’s The Mother and the Bear, produced by Toronto’s Rhombus Media and Chile’s Asesorias y Producciones Fabula Limitada. Elevation Pictures is the Canadian distributor. The film follows a mother who travels from Korea to Winnipeg after her grown daughter has an accident and discovers she doesn’t really know her child at all. All three titles have sales rights available.

Matthew Rankin’s Une langue universelle (Universal Language) which won the Directors’ Fortnight People’s Choice award in Cannes, will make its North American premiere in Centrepiece. The film tells the story of a Canada where Persian and French are the two official languages, and loneliness is the common currency.

Rankin co-wrote the French- and Persian-language film with Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi, with Sylvain Corbeil of Montreal-based Metafilms producing. Maison 4:3 is the film’s Canadian distributor.

Also making its North American debut is Kazik Radwanski’s Matt and Mara (pictured), which had its world premiere at Berlinale. The film follows an academic struggling with a new baby and a distracted husband, who returns to hanging out with a college pal.

The film is produced by Dan Montgomery under his MDFF banner and Candice Napoleone. Executive producing are Neil Mathieson, Matthew Miller, Matt Johnson (who also stars) and Radwanski. MDFF is distributing the film in Canada and is the sales agent. Cinema Guild is the U.S. distributor.

The Centrepiece programme represents 41 countries, including Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the U.S.

TIFF runs from Sept. 5 to 15.

Image courtesy of TIFF.